At the End of the Tunnel
by Qualapec the She-Wolf
Summary: SanzoxYaone! Sanzo finds himself captured and taken to a remote prison outpost under the command of Houtu castle. With torture and execution on the horizon, his future looks bleak. Even he admits it. Yaone was the one thing he didn't see coming...
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Saiyuki or anything else that anybody in the known universe could sue me for. I own nothing.

AN: This is an idea that hit me out of nowhere. I've liked the idea of writing a SanzoxYaone since I read Enemies by our very own FFnet revolutionary Nimblnymph. Speaking of which, a big shoutout to Nimblnymph who has been so kind in regards to both encouragement in writing this fic, and pre-reading it. She's fantastic.

At the End of the Tunnel

There was darkness, that was all his eyes could see. He could feel rough hands dragging him by his elbows, putting strain on his bound wrists, his bare feet were already unfeeling from the cold floor. His breath was hot against the black sack thrown over his head. The sack itself smelled disgusting.

Genjyo Sanzo remained limp in the arms of his captors, he didn't have the energy to resist. The injuries he'd sustained during the battle were still hurting him. Though thankfully they'd settled down to a dull throbbing instead of the deep, sharp jabs to his nerves.

How long ago had it been since his capture? He'd spent so much time passed out. But he could have sworn some of the time had been spent thrown over (already hog-tied by that point) a flying dragon. Sanzo knew this due to the memory of the ice cold rain numbing his back...at very least that was when the pain subsided. Didn't know where he was either. Could guess though. The demons may have taken him back to Houtu Castle, which would save him a lot of time on the off chance he could: break his ropes, defeat five or six guards injured and with his bare hands, and escape the same way under the same circumstances.

Yeah...he could do that...if he could get his body to respond to him.

"Hey, man," One of his guards said, "Aren't you worried? This is Genjyo Sanzo, man!"

"Nah, we'll be getting our reward from Koushu long before this drug wares off."

So much for that particular suicidal plan.

Sanzo, despite the joking, knew there were very few ways he'd manage to get out of this alive. Most of those very few included different variations of them nicely letting him go with a slap on the wrist. He'd killed far too many people...he doubted whoever was in charge could retain good standing with their people without violently executing him. That's what you did with war prisoners: you amped up the confidence of your own soldiers by beheading the person who'd killed so many of them. Not only that, but his head in a box would destroy Goku, who was at the moment the worst threat to them.

There were a lot of reasons to kill him.

Then there were the reasons for keeping him alive: torture, public humiliation, more torture...all of which would still end up with them exterminating him anyway.

Things were looking pretty bleak.

This made itself even more apparent as someone jerked him up off the floor and onto a chair. Then someone ripped off the black bag. Bastard took some of his hair with it. He grunted as bright lights stabbed his eyes. Egh...it was worse than a hangover. "Ow..." he said, not as an expression of hurt, but as dry irritation.

A form in a white lab coat appeared as soon as his vision adjusted to the light. Glasses and an unshaven face. Hair as dark as Sanzo's was golden. Eyes somehow a shade darker than his hair. The hair was spiked. His eyes obscured by glasses. But Genjyo Sanzo would know his master's murderer anywhere. It was the strange presence he felt around the man, how he'd known he'd been there when Goku was injured, how he'd known the man was in the room when Koumyou Sanzo died. It was him...

Ukoku Sanzo.

"Hello, little Genjyo Sanzo..."

"Bite...me..." Sanzo rasped out. A weaker man might have let his head droop to the floor, but Sanzo held his head up. Despite the immense physical strain he would look this man in the eyes.

"Mmmm. Still a little spunky are we?" Nii said, before reaching out a hand towards Sanzo's neck and chin. "Well, we'll just have to work on that, won't we?"

Sanzo hated this man. This man who was responsible for all the pain in his life. For all the rainy days spent locked in one dark night. His memories always setting themselves on loop.

Sanzo hated this man. So he told him so. The only way he knew how.

"I am going to kill you, fucker."

Nii just smiled the same twisted smile, "Oh dear Genjyo Sanzo..." Nii slithered a hand around Sanzo's head, fingering his hair with the other. Calmly he whispered in the blond monk's ear; with a voice that slithered into his brain with the ease and vileness of a snake, "There are places, beyond the heavens. Celestial whirlpools that are so dark and so powerful that not even the light of a star can escape their grasp. Koumyou Sanzo could not escape me, what makes you think you can?"

"If I recall, a black hole is made when a star collapses in on itself," Sanzo said back, going with the analogy.

"...Yes. But it becomes more powerful then any star in the sky when it does," He laughed. "That's what happens when you sell your soul to darkness." Another laugh echoed through the air as he gently released Sanzo's hair. Striding over to a surgical stand not to far from the wooden chair Sanzo was tied to, he picked up a needle. Sanzo would bet good money that whatever was in there was going to be detrimental to his health...

Nii walked back over, the twisted grin still there at he squeezed the end of the syringe, sending a tiny arc of the clear fluid into the air. "I hope I don't need to tell you how much this is going to hurt. I'd lose myself going into such intricate details."

Sanzo had a feeling Nii wasn't just talking about the pin-prick, "Just get it over with, bastard."

"If you insist." And he jabbed the syringe deep into Sanzo's arm.

VVVVV

Yaone had just finished putting Lirin to bed, the girl managed to keep her busy all day. Now she wanted nothing more than to rest, but work needed to be done. Her headache was, at the moment, too great to work with gunpowder, so she supposed she'd get to work with organizing her herbs and medicinal equipment...Lirin got in there earlier and mucked it all up. Yaone chewed her out, warned her that if her remedies were in the wrong place at the wrong time then somebody could die. She left out about how that person could be Lord Kougaiji. How a girl Lirin's age didn't understand that on her own was beyond her. She groaned; her day had consisted of chasing Lirin while Kougaiji and Dokugakuji followed a rumor about the Kouten Scripture. As it stood she was utterly exhausted...There were times when Yaone wished Kougaiji would take her with him and let Doku care for Lirin. She immediately denounced the idea. Doku...was father material. But she didn't think he was ready to rumble with Lirin yet. The demonic child had far more energy than a four year old on caffeine. Besides, taking care of Lirin was just one more way she could serve her lord. And she had to admit that if she _never_ got to do it she would miss little Lirin. All she wanted was a break every now and then.

But as she opened up the first of the leather bags and the smell of catnip washed over her she realized that this was the best it was going to get for a while. So she sat there, re-organizing her herbs and her other medical equipment. She didn't have Chi Gong to her advantage like Hakkai did. So she made due with things like bandages, tourniquets, and other things she would need for surgery in the field.

She couldn't contain the sudden yawn. Oh how she just wanted to go to bed! But her equipment needed to be efficient again as soon as possible. It far too dangerous to just let it stay as it was. In the very likely occurrence that Kougaiji or Doku needed her help precious moments spent fumbling around could mean the difference between life and death. Besides, if she didn't organize it again that would just make her a hypocrite for what she told Lirin. How could she go into such intricate detail about how dangerous it was if she just let it stay like that?

"Hey, Yaone!" Doku's voice echoed through her workshop.

Yaone spun around in her chair, snapped awake by her friend's voice. The first thing that crossed her mind was that something was wrong. Damnit. She wasn't ready! "Doku? What is it? Is someone hurt?"

"You could say that, Genjyo Sanzo's been captured by Koushu's men," He said gravely.

"What?" Yaone asked.

" 'What'? That's all this gets is a 'what'?"

"I'm sorry, it just took a moment to sink in..." As a matter of fact it was still in the "sinking" process. Sanzo? Captured? The violent monk who mowed down hordes of her kinsmen without much more than his own physical capabilities and a snub-nosed revolver? That wasn't even counting the Maten Scripture. Speaking of which, "Well...do they have the Maten Scripture?"

Doku had crossed his arms, and was making himself comfortable leaning on one of the counters in her lab. "Nope, from what I can gather they separated him from his weapons as soon as possible. They decided to transport them separately..."

Yaone caught on, "But Goku and the others caught the soldiers that held the scripture." She couldn't hold the sad tone from her voice. The more she thought about it, the more she realized what was going to become of the monk. Koushu was notoriously cruel to her own people. She tortured and killed her servants for not much more than painting her nails unevenly. It made Yaone tremble to think about all the horrible things they would probably do to him. She wondered if the brain washing techniques Dr. Nii used on Kougaiji would be used on Sanzo. No. Kougaiji snapped out of it too easily, Sanzo was too dangerous to risk escape. Much less keep alive for very long. "So...What are they going to do to him?" Though she already knew.

Doku ran a hand through is pepper dark hair and sighed, "Gods know. They took him to the prison outpost."

"The prison outpost?" Yaone said, in a little under a gasp. She knew that place. When she first began to work for Kougaiji he wanted her to understand the history of Houtu Castle and the conquests behind it. He gave her a book, she read it. Gyumaoh used the Outpost when he was still in control. It was almost as notorious as the war mongerer himself. Far northeast of Houtu castle, it had imprisoned Gyumaoh's personal and political rivals. As for what went on in there, it is said you can still hear the echoing screams.

"Nii and Huang have temporarily transferred there," Doku added grimly.

Yaone bit her lip at that news. Nii was a despicable man. "Mad scientist" never had a better use. It made her physically ill to imagine what Nii would do to the priest. She never knew Sanzo particularly well. And it was true he may not have been the best of men. But he had an unwavering sense of pride, very much like Lord Kougaiji, and he was probably the greatest human warrior she'd ever met...he didn't deserve what was coming his way. "What are we going to do?"

Doku shrugged, "Damned if I know what's going through Koshu's mind."

Yaone knew what Doku meant. Koushu wouldn't do anything unless it was for her own personal gain. Yaone knew what she wanted to do. They were officially enemies, but she couldn't help wanting to take the nearest flying dragon to Sanzo's friends. Tell them where he was in the hope they wouldn't be too late. But she wouldn't do that. Koushu and Kougaiji both had operatives watching the others like hawks. The risk was far too great. If she was caught it could easily come back around on Kougaiji. If that was what he wanted then she would do it without hesitation; she wouldn't, however, risk their lives without his consent.

Suddenly the door burst open, slamming against the wall hard enough to rattle the bottles and tools on her counters. Kougaiji stormed in, and said between gritted teeth "Yaone, is Lirin around?"

"No. Lord Kougaiji-"

"That whore!" Clearly speaking of Koushu, he no longer bothered to restrain himself, in anger his fist slammed down on her counter; again the bottles rattled. Yaone even had to reach up a hand to steady a jar of Blue Poppy seeds. "She's disgusting. She lives with no sense of honor."

"You forgot slimy, slinky, manipulative bitch," Doku quipped dryly. Yaone couldn't help but notice how much like his brother he sounded, and she certainly didn't disagree.

Kougaiji ran a hand through his hair, "I hate her..."

Yaone rose from her seat, "Yes, Lord Kougaiji. But what's going to happen to Sanzo?"

Doku gave a quick smile, "Don't you mean 'what are we going to do about it?'"

The demon prince sighed, "I spent an hour in the same room haggling with her. And for the effort I expect to be put in _his _goddamn will. Yaone?"

"Yes, Lord Kougaiji?"

"You will be flying to the Outpost every day to care for Sanzo's injuries. From this day until he is deemed...no longer useful. Anything more would include risks I'm not willing to take."

Yaone nodded, it was the least he deserved. "Yes, Lord Kougaiji."

Well, she'd asked for a break from Lirin...

VVVVV Chapter end


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Saiyuki or anything else that anybody in the known universe could sue me for. I own nothing.

At the End of the Tunnel

The Prison Outpost was an ominous building. Even more so than Houtu Castle. Houtu Castle was home to some people. You could feel it if you walked down around the villages that supported the massive citadel. Although the peasants were greatly overworked to provide for the army you could still hear the occasional laughter of playing children. Or a pair of women chatting while buying groceries. Evil presence aside, it was a place where people, or more accurately demons, could set up their homes and lives. Yaone, herself, dared to call it home. Whenever she was flying to it from the distance she could feel the warm energy that radiated from it as well.

This place had no such warmth to its threshold. Just...cold. The cold of death and endless darkness. As Yaone flew on one of the long distance dragons she wrapped the tanned cloak even tighter around her. The light rain battering against her while she rode seemed tropical in comparison. She pushed the feelings aside, and reminded herself that she had a job to do.

The dragon flew up and circled the docking area of the stables. The sun was quickly disappearing behind the horizon, but there was still enough light to land without assistance. Yaone braced herself for this particular dragon's inevitably botched landings. She hoped it wouldn't land hard enough to crack open any of her jars. When it slammed into the ground with enough force to give its cargo whiplash she was glad to hear clattering, but no shattering.

She stretched out her aching muscles then released her legs from the saddle. A stable hand came running up, "Can I get you're bags ma'am?"

She handed her equipment to him as she climbed down, "Thank you."

He was a younger demon, with gray skin and orange colored hair, and he seemed nice enough. Yaone wondered how he found his way into a position like this...stable keeper in hell...He led her mount away and her bags were once again in her hands. Nobody bothered to tell her what kinds of wounds she would be dealing with so she was forced to pack near her whole collection. She entered the castle through one of the servant's entrances. The smell of cigarette smoke announced the one person she was hoping to avoid.

Dr. Nii was waiting for her, underneath the one faulty light in the entire hallway. It flicked over him. She wondered if he planned it that way or if it was just a significant coincidence. His smile was as twisted as ever. For once there seemed to be some kind of pleasure behind it. Just a kid who'd ripped off a bird's wings to watch it struggle. "Miss Yaone," He drawled, "I didn't think you'd come..."

"Well, I'm here. So why don't you tell me where my patient is?" The healer hoped the fear wasn't too apparent. She wasn't a coward, she was just as ready to stand and fight him if he attacked her then she would be anybody else. There was just something about him that made her fear him. Something empty, something predatory, something...

...evil. As a matter of fact his aura really fit in with the rest of the place.

"Is that what they're calling it these days? I guess 'conjugal visit' is too politically incorrect."

She ignored the comment, "Well, he's surely not _your_ patient? What ever happened to do no harm?"

He grinned wider and walked towards her, "Didn't you get the memo? Malpractice is _in_."

Yaone didn't move, hoping it came across more as defiance than the fact her fight or flight was kicking in. The closer he got to her, the higher the hairs on her neck stood. By the time he was standing beside her she wondered if she would have time to draw her small dagger should he make a move. This close she doubted it. She focused all her energy on keeping her body from shaking when he placed his lips near her ear, "He's in the dungeon, lowest level. Have fun..."

It was only when he grabbed her behind that she finally snapped out of it and slapped him as hard as she could. She immediately regretted it. The bastard would probably consider it sexual tension...

"Ouch..." He said. Damn. Even the slap couldn't knock the smirk from his face. "Have fun little apothecary..." He drawled again before walking away, cackling all the while. That was when Yaone noticed something strange.

That stuffed rabbit...he didn't have that stupid little stuffed rabbit...

She filed it way for later. It was indeed strange to see him without it, but not at all relevant to her job. Good. Maybe he was back on his medication.

Yaone didn't trust the elevators in this place. Actually she didn't really trust elevators anywhere. Something about being locked in a small box, suspended from certain death by a cord didn't sit well with her. She sighed, maybe she was far too paranoid for her own good. But when there _were _people willing to kill her or her lord around every bend she'd learned things such as "too careful" didn't exist. So she took the stairs. Good exercise at least.

She didn't know what to expect. It could have been anything from mortal wounds to just a few bruises. They may not have even started yet. Or he could already be well on his way to the afterlife. Mentally, she prepared herself for what she_ would_ see. It would have been against Koushu's political standing not to publicly put him to death. Of course, it was Koushu. She may not even care. That woman was known to wave her control over Kougaiji right in front of him. Just the fact that Kougaiji argued her on the subject may well have caused the monk's early death.

She found a door at the bottom of the staircase. Definitely newer than the surrounding stone walls; Yaone didn't think they had titanium alloy back when this place was built. She didn't believe they had blast doors either. Upon quick examination it was clearly reinforced for explosions.

_What? Do they think I'm going to break him out of here?_

Smart of them. She wanted to.

She reached for the handle and tried to open it. Locked...and it seemed a key-card unlocked it. Shit! She didn't not want to go back up all those stairs for a card! Suddenly there was the sound of the lock being undone, the light near the handle turned from red to green and the door opened. Yaone found herself staring face to face with Dr. Huang. "What are you doing here?" the other woman asked.

"I'm here to care for the prisoner."

"Care for him?" The tone used was the closest thing to a laugh Yaone ever heard from Huang. They possessed very...differing opinions on the treatment of patients and the worth of medicine. Huang thought Yaone's medicine was based on superstition and not much else. Yaone argued that most of the drugs Huang used were derived from traditional herbal remedies. It may have been a cruder method, but Yaone didn't have the resources or the time at Huang's disposal. But as far as Huang was concerned if it didn't come from a laboratory then it was useless. Needless to say, their relationship was civil at best...

"Yes," Yaone said.

"I don't see a key-card."

"Nii didn't...give me one." The healer paused mid-sentence when an idea hit her. She reached back to the place just above where Nii touched her. The place where her dagger sheath was nestled comfortably in her combat attire. Right behind it was a key card. "Or, maybe he did," She held the key-card up for the doctor to look at.

Huang pushed her glasses up onto the bridge of her nose and studied the card thoroughly. "I'm not even going to comment on the fact you had it and didn't even know it."

"I'm not even going to comment on the fact that you're torturing a man and acting as if it's nothing."

_...and openly spiteful at worst._

The doctor moved her head in such a way that the glare from the overhead lights hid her eyes entirely from Yaone. Quickly dodging the question she asked, "Why does Prince Kougaiji's personal alchemist need to care for a prisoner when there's a very skilled medical doctor on staff right here?"

"Kougaiji _is_ the prince of these lands. It is his responsibility to care for his war prisoners until the sentence of death is handed out. It is also his choice as to who cares for said prisoners. Frankly, he trusts me more than you."

Huang snorted, "Fine. It's not like it matters anyway. Now. Later. He's going to die." And she walked away in a pair of heels that had to be incredibly painful.

Yaone wondered, what could have made her like that? So cold that she could discuss a man's death as easily as ordering coffee. Yaone knew she would never know; she just couldn't help but to speculate.

With a heavy breath she walked into the dungeon halls. Rows of cells on either side greeted her. Rusted old iron bars blocked them off from the main hallway. The stones that made it up were old. Disgustingly coated in some places by strange...what was that? Moss? Fungus? But all things aside they were sturdy. Not about to fall apart. A dead giveaway to Sanzo's cell was a set of new iron bars and a card reader stuck on the wall next to it. Hesitantly she approached. She didn't put it past him to have already escaped from whatever bindings he was held in and positioned himself to attack whatever fool came too close to the bars. "Genjyo Sanzo?" She called softly as she looked in.

He was chained to the right end of the cell. Sprawled out on his stomach and laying on a filthy mat barely half an inch thick. His only article of clothing was a pair of blue jeans. No guarantee you could tell they were blue anymore. From where she was standing she could see several deep gashes along his back, they were open wounds; never a good thing in a place where the walls were coated in scum. Something didn't quite look right with his left shoulder, it seemed twisted at some awkward angle. She wouldn't know whether it was dislocated or broken until she could examine it closer. "Sanzo?" She called again. Again there was no response. His eyes were closed, he looked to be either passed out or sleeping.

His wrists were shackled to one long chain that ran through a loop on the wall. And there were maybe ten feet of chain total. Five for either arm if he wasn't pulling with one and slacking the other. Which would give him more than enough length to grab her if she wasn't careful. Smoothly she ran her key-card over the reader by the cell. It beeped, and the lock undid itself. Fortunately when they put in the new bars they made it a full blown door; not the little hatch you had to bend over to get out of you usually found with demon prisons. That would be good in case she needed to make a quick getaway.

She didn't know what to expect from him. Humans, and demons, were at their base animals. When an animal is injured or cornered it will strike out at whatever moves. Whatever it is that's moving, whether that thing intends to help or hurt it. The same goes for when it's imprisoned. Yaone was hoping Sanzo was still coherent enough to know that she was helping.

The problem was that he looked pretty asleep. If he was asleep then there was no more dangerous time to approach him. But if he really were passed out, due to some injury she hadn't seen, she would need to treat him.

Yaone decided to take a chance. She slid he dagger out of its sheath and placed it by the opposite end of the cell. The last thing she needed was for him to get his hands on that. She also laid down her equipment and bags. "Sanzo? I'm coming over, so if you can hear me now is the time to say so."

No response.

She slinked over to him, cautious. When you were dealing with a man who could kill someone with a dirty tube sock "careful" was a priority. "Sanzo?" She asked again as she got close enough to touch his bare shoulder. Slowly she etched her hand out.

"San-" her hand barely touched his shoulder, that was all it took. His right arm flew up and grabbed her wrist roughly. The clink of chains accompanied his movements as he twisted sideways and forced her from her balance. Before she could even think his right hand was off her wrist and onto her neck. Somehow, he'd managed to drag her over him and press her up against the wall. Suddenly she wished she hadn't left her dagger at the other end of the cell.

Only then she noticed that, although a solid grip, she could still breathe. He hadn't cut off her air supply. The hold's purpose was to keep her from attacking him. It wasn't even hard enough to bruise, really. She stared him in the eyes for the first time. They were a wearier, more anxious version of the usual shielded gaze. But behind the obvious fatigue, there were reserves of strength and determination. Like he was ready to fight whoever would take him. He was breathing heavily, and Yaone figured she must have startled him. After a moment or so he moved again and pushed her onto the ground, where he finally released her.

She quickly scrambled out of his range again, "Sanzo?"

There was blunt annoyance in his voice, "What are you doing here?"

"Kougaiji sent me to care for your injuries," she stated coolly, "Now, will you please let me see those?"

"Fat chance. How do I know you aren't going get me so stoned that I won't even complain when they ask if I mind with how they're executing me?"

"That's absurd, they wouldn't ask you," Yaone wasn't taken aback by the reaction. She would have expected no less from him and was prepared for it. "And you don't," The statement was simple, "But you do know three things: Kougaiji despises Nii, and I share the position. Also, Kougaiji has no need to drug you for his own purposes, since we already know where the others are. And that if you don't have some proper care for your injuries they could get infected in a place like this."

Sanzo's back was resting on the wall and Yaone noticed there was a cold spot on her shoulders where she'd been pressed up against it. She shoved it to the back of her mind when she saw his left arm. Clearly dislocated and limp at his side.

"Toss me the shit," He said suddenly.

"What?"

For that question she got an annoyed look, "I said: give me whatever you want to put on me and I'll put it on myself."

Fair enough. As skilled a warrior as he was it was no surprise he was adept in caring for combat wounds. Besides, when he was in this state she knew this was the best she was going to get out of him. "Alright," She soothed and made her way back to her bags, where she quickly pulled out some of the things he would need.

"I'm going to start you with some Echinacea ointments, rub it on your wounds," She said as she fumbled through her jars and found what she was looking for. She rolled the bottle across the cell to him.

He looked at her like it was the most obvious question in the world, "Well? What does it do?"

"You rub it on the exterior wounds. It will help it heal quicker. It also strengthens the body's immune system. In this..." She motioned around them.

"You mean in this cesspool?"

Whether it was a joke or not, it got a quick laugh out of her. She couldn't help it. It was just so...true. When she looked up again he was looking at her like she'd grown another head. Finally he ordered, "Just keep them coming. What else?"

"Well," She said as she choked down more giggles, "Take this. Cat's Claw. I'd really like to start you on this. After just a few doses it has profound effects on the immune system as well. Did they inject you with anything?"

"Yes," He said flatly, a little irritably. Yaone got a feeling she was touching on a not-so-pleasant memory.

"Are there any lingering effects?"

"Muscle pains."

Yaone nodded, "I'm going to give you ground Burdock Seeds. Blood purifier. It should get rid of any excess of whatever toxin they injected you with." Once again she rolled a vial across the cell. He picked it up, studied it before tossing it back like a shot glass.

He blinked a couple of times, "That tastes like shit. Do you know that?"

Yes, she did. Kougaiji was a little better about taking what she gave him and not complaining. Doku had more the tendency to give her flak about whatever it was. He'd complained about everything from stinging to taste. It was actually a little funny. "What happened to your arm?" She asked.

"Nii pulled it out of its socket."

"You do know that you can't put it back onto place yourself?"

He glared at her. Yaone understood. If she were in a position as vulnerable as his she would be extra defensive as well. But if he limited her ability to do her job then she couldn't help him. He knew that, or Yaone_ hoped _that was what the glare meant.

"Fine," He snarled, "Do what you want."

Yaone nodded and walked over to him. Apparently he knew the drill. He pushed himself off the wall so his back was to Yaone's chest, "Are you ready?" She asked as she gripped his arm.

He winced at her touch, "Yeah."

She held his arm outward, getting another wince out of him, before pressing it back in with speed and force. The sound he made could have been called a shout. She imagined it was more than Nii got out of him. "There, how does it feel now?"

"Tingling. A little pain."

"That's good. I'll need to get a sling ready. You'll want to move it as little as possible."

Sanzo snorted. His thoughts weren't shared with her, but she knew. She was thinking the same thing. About how Nii was likely to force it out of socket again. It was a hard thing to know that she was healing somebody who's captors wouldn't let it last. She fit him with the sling and quickly moved away. She was about to leave when she took off her cloak and handed it to him.

"What is this?" He asked.

"It's cold down here, and you don't have a shirt. As your healer I'm suggesting you take something to warm yourself up." She handed it to him; he took it, watching her suspiciously at the same time.

Yaone turned to leave after gathering her equipment and the empty vials he handed back to her. The cell door was swinging open before he said something. "Yaone..." He said softly, and averted his gaze from hers.

"Yes?" She asked.

"...The shit you gave me, it better work."

She figured that was the closest thing to a thank you she was going to get out him.

VVVVV Chapter End


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Saiyuki or anything else that anybody in the known universe could sue me for. I own nothing.

At the End of the Tunnel

Yaone made it back to Houtu Castle late that night and feeling dead on her feet exhausted. Just wanting nothing more than to get a hot shower, then collapse on her pillow. The flight was a long one on a sturdy but blunt dragon. But even so the flight wasn't the most physically and emotionally draining aspect of her journey. It was truly hard to see the monk like that. Beaten, bruised, bleeding, injected with mystery chemicals and still strong enough to be stubborn. There was a lot to admire there.

She was too tired to think about it, so she tried to push it from her thoughts. The last thing she needed to think about were those burning violet eyes, filled with defiant fire. It hurt to think that there was a chance Nii could break that spirit. The idea that Nii could kill Genjyo Sanzo before any blade could fall was a depressing one. There was no use staying up at night concerned over things she had little control over. She hated it, but she learned long ago that this was the way of the world. Change what you can, and accept that there are things beyond your control.

All she could do was make him comfortable; she doubted she could change his fate.

So lost was Yaone in these depressing thoughts that she almost had a heart attack when she turned on the light to her lab and saw Lirin was sitting on one of the counters. As in _on_ the counters, sitting cross-legged. Yaone was afraid that Lirin had gotten into her herbs again, and was a little nervous for a potted plant on the counter near her. The healer was about to chew her out. To once again go into detail on the reasons Lirin should stay out of her lab. Yaone opened her mouth to do so...then stopped herself. She was too tired to go through this...Besides, it wasn't like any of it would actually get through to her charge. "Lady Lirin," Yaone said automatically, "You should be in bed."

But that was when she noticed the serious look on Lirin's face. The one she got where she really was keen on learning something. Lirin averted her eyes to the ground, looking around nervously, "I'm sorry...Yaone...I couldn't get any sleep."

"Neither can I apparently," Yaone sighed more to herself than the literal-and-figurative demon child.

"Yaone, it's just, I've been thinking about what I did...Y'know. Messing up your stuff...and about what you said. That someone could die...I started thinking that maybe that someone would be Kougaiji..." Lirin stopped, and looked Yaone in the eyes again. "I'm sorry."

Yaone sighed. She couldn't accept Lirin's apology and tell her everything was all right. If she did that then Lirin would simply forget the lesson. Yaone was busy forcing her tired mind to work up something to say when:

"I want to learn how to work your healing herbs..."

Okay..._that _was a new direction. A statement that stunned Yaone into silence. She was shocked. Lirin had never shown any interest in learning much of anything, unless Yaone tied it in to some great battle that took place. She'd also never shown any kind of interest in Yaone's herbs at all. A long time ago Yaone had offered to teach Lirin, and Lirin declined. Her exact words were not remembered, but it was something along the lines of: 'I can't be bothered by sciency-crap, that's what we got an alchemist for!'. Of course that was a long time ago, before Lirin actually came to care about Yaone.

Maybe the girl really wanted to learn...or maybe her desire was a fleeting thing and would be forgotten by the morning. The latter seemed so often the case with Lirin. This was probably just another stage that Lirin would get bored with. It was somewhat pointless for Yaone to get her hopes up. Also, she already had a pretty good guess about where this could be coming from. She felt even wearier. The thought that Lirin didn't know that a good many of the plants in this collection were dangerous if ingested in large amounts was discouraging. "Lirin," She said finally, "You can't eat them."

Lirin looked back at her, a little hurt this time, "I don't want to eat them. I want to learn how to use them...Like which one's do I rub on a cut." Only then did Yaone notice the serious look on Lirin's face. The one she got where she really was keen on learning something.

Yaone walked over and put her bags on the counter next to Lirin. There was no use in unpacking any of them. Nii was creative and she assumed there would be a need for each and every one of them at some point. "Lirin, it's not something you can start and just drop. There are doses you need to remember. Where you can find certain plants. If somebody is allergic to one which herbs can replace it, not to mention cure the allergic reaction. You need a large knowledge base just to be remotely useful, " Perhaps everything in the statement wasn't entirely truthful. You could be helpful with a rather small knowledge base. But Yaone was intent on unraveling Lirin's momentary determination to see if it was more deep-seated than that.

Lirin nodded at each statement, "Yaone, I _really_ want to learn how to do this."

Another heavy breath, although this time there was something resembling frustration behind it. "Why Lirin? Why should I believe you want to learn anything? What about the time you wanted to learn how to draw? What about the time you wanted to learn how to dance? What about-"

"This is different."

"Tell me Lirin. What makes this different?" She wanted to know what was behind this.

"...I want to help Kougaiji if he gets hurt...What you said got me thinking. What if he's hurt and you're not here. All I could do was watch..."

Yaone opened her mouth to quell Lirin's fears; it was a reflexive thing. But she stopped herself. Lirin really wanted to learn, but the only thing driving her was the thought that her brother could get hurt. If Yaone made her feel better about this then she probably wouldn't feel the need to learn anymore. As long as Kougaiji was involved there was an outside chance that Lirin really would train as a healer, to one extent or another. Yaone knew it would be nice to have somebody else who could be of help during surgery or while she was working. And Yaone had to admit, as long as she would be spending at the prison outpost for now on it would be helpful to have an apprentice who at least understood the basics. She would hate to have a repeat of when they'd been forced to hand Kougaiji over to Nii...

An apprentice could come in handy, if that was what Lirin really wanted.

"Alright, Lirin. If you really want to do this meet me here, tomorrow, at seven o'clock in the morning."

"In the morning!?"

"That's what I said...and make sure you get up early enough to eat breakfast. If you even consider munching on my collection you're out of here."

Lirin opened her mouth to protest, but stopped, "Alright Yaone. I'll be here."

Yaone smiled; at least Lirin's heart was in the right place, even if she didn't show up in the morning. Lirin really was a caring person. The polar opposite of her mother and father, no doubt due to Kougaiji's influence. "Okay Lirin, and get some sleep tonight. People learn best when their minds are rested."

Lirin gave a wide smile and sprinted off to bed. Yaone watched her in reminiscence...Glad and sad at the same time. A part of her was glad that Lirin was growing up, another was depressed about it. Once you grew up you came to realize that the world was not the happy place it had been as a child. It's full of dangers and terrors around every bend. You understand the true meaning of 'betrayal' and 'hate'. Lirin was growing up into a world full of pain. A war where demons and humans were slaughtering each other and people had to do terrible things to survive. The sooner Lirin realized that, the safer she would be. And yet Yaone, Doku, and Kougaiji had all lost their innocence a long time ago. It was painful to think that the child that kept them all grounded in reality was growing up. Yaone just hoped Lirin didn't have to grow up like they all had. That hers would gradually disappear instead of falling away in the crash course.

As she thought of Lirin, she thought of Goku as well. The demon was definitely a little world-wearier than Lirin. Yaone imagined the way he grew up was in chunks, after all he was fighting on the front lines. Traveling across the land, actually being forced to witness the horrible things that were going on. She wondered if Sanzo felt the same way she did watching Goku grow up.

VVVVV

Sanzo had seen people die some creative ways. But only once in his memory could he remember seeing someone get electrocuted.

If he recalled correctly he and Goku had descended from the temple to have dinner in town with Hakkai and Gojyo. Goku was helping Hakkai cook and Gojyo had a snack going in the toaster. Sanzo was sitting at the kitchen table reading his newspaper, and enjoying it when he heard a growl of "fucking shit" from Gojyo. Apparently the kappa's snack was stuck in the toaster. Sanzo was about to go back to reading his newspaper when Gojyo angrily reached in a drawer and grabbed a fork. Sanzo would have told him that was a bad idea if Gojyo wasn't stupid _and_ fast at the same time. Gojyo jabbed the fork into the toaster before Sanzo could get the warning out. Gojyo had writhed, screamed, and jerked all kinds of fancy ways before finally passing out when Hakkai unplugged the toaster. The kappa was an idiot in the truest sense of the word.

Sanzo had never been electrocuted himself.

Nii was about to change that.

The metal part of a spring mattress was hooked up to some kind of battery. Two wires with clips laid beside the metal spring, one was hooked up, the other laying idle. Nii was sitting on a chair next to the battery with a smile on his face. "Good evening Genjyo Sanzo..."

Sanzo remained quiet, hoping his glare said enough.

"Whatever you say," Nii spoke in an almost sing-song tone while two guards grabbed Sanzo and thrust him up against the wire frame. It was warm against his freezing back, a sure sign that Nii had already revved it up and made sure his archaic setup worked. "You should be more polite, Sanzo. It might make this easier," Nii said, typing away on his computer.

The guards thrust Sanzo's wrists down onto the frame and bound them there with...barbed wire. "Barbed wire?" Sanzo snarled, "You really outdid yourself. -Watch it bastard!" He winced and yelled at his guard as several tiny cuts were made on his wrists.

"Mmm? What was that, Sanzo? Oh, you should be careful about thrashing around...you could shred your wrists."

"Mmm? What was that Nii? You're going to eat shit and die?"

Nii laughed- no -giggled, "You're so funny. Brace yourself."

As much as Sanzo hated to follow any kind of order given by Nii, but he only had a heartbeat to get his tongue out of the way before it started. If not he would have bitten it off. It was a pain unlike anything he'd ever felt before. Every nerve in his body seemed alight with fire. He writhed uncontrollably as jolts of electricity shot through him. Jerking this way and that. The tearing sting as the barbed wire cut into his wrists took a close second to the widespread agony.

As much as he hated to, he screamed. There was nothing to do but scream through gritted teeth. When finally it stopped he managed to turn that scream into an angry shout, "Mother fucker!" His buzzing hands felt sticky and wet. Warm blood was already dripping from the places where his wrists had been cut. Not deep enough to kill him...unfortunately.

Nii's smile widened, "You cut yourself."

Sanzo, panting heavily and barely able to stand, glared at the other man, "What do you want Nii? You've been pulling the strings on this Vacation from Hell since it started, which means you were aware of me before I was aware of you. Why? This can't be about just the resurrection..." He trailed off, as he spoke he became more aware of the situation, and realized something, "It's about my master..."

Nii didn't respond, he just calmly reached over to the battery and placed his finger on a switch. This time with a glint of hate in his black eyes. Good. It was about time Sanzo was the one drilling for information on his enemy's mind.

"Oh?" Sanzo said with a smirk, "Did I hit a nerve?"

Of course all that got him was more pain.

As he writhed this time he tried to focus on his hands. On holding them as still as possible so as not to injure his wrists any further then they already were. But still the involuntary jerking found a way to drive the barbs deeper into the flesh.

The shock lasted longer this time. The searing pain in his body told him it was lasting an eternity. But he knew from the frantic beat of his heart that wasn't true.

"Dr. Nii," he heard a woman's voice through the haze. Right, the assistant that always hid her eyes behind those god-awful glasses, "You have to stop the charge now. His heart rate is too high. If you keep this up much longer he could go into cardiac arrest."

"Ohh? Good, then we won't have long to wait," He heard Nii coo again, the malice still there. For the first time Sanzo figured pushing his torturer's buttons might not have been the brightest idea he'd ever had.

"Dr. Nii!" the woman yelled again, "His vitals are unstable! You have to stop this now!"

His heartbeat drummed in his ears beside the steady buzzing of the current. Growing more frenzied and overworked to pump the blood. Sanzo was afraid it would explode from the pressure it was under.

When it finally stopped he collapsed to the ground. His legs no longer capable of supporting even his lithe frame. As he fell he was sure he practically skinned his left wrist. To add insult to injury he jogged the shoulder Yaone fixed. There was a twinge, but it was nothing compared to his fresher injuries. For once he managed to keep his mouth shut.

"Nii, that last shock was too much, if you want your..._toy_ to live then you're going to have to take it easy on him." What was that in her voice? Disgust? So she wasn't the sadist her boss was.

"Oh...alright. We have a while to get to know each other. Besides...I'm bored today." With a wave of his hand the two demon guards moved over to Sanzo. He wanted to leap up and rip their throats out with his bare hands.

It was when one of his guards pulled the barbed wire free from his hands, and caused it to bleed by pulling out a barb that had become lodged in his wrist at some point. Rage flowed through him, a burst of energy that yearned for freedom. Even for a moment of it.

He slammed his fist into his captor's jaw, sending the demon sprawling to the floor. Sanzo then grabbed his left fist in his right and slammed it backward into the other demon's stomach. In a matter of moments he stood there in front of the two scientists. The woman moved slightly behind Nii. That was a laugh. As if she thought she would really be the first one Sanzo went for. An even bigger laugh was the idea that she thought Nii would protect her if Sanzo did make a move. Utterly pathetic.

But he only had Nii in his sights. The blonde leapt and in two easy bounds vaulted over the desk between him and Nii. The blood pumping out of his wrists and the ache in his muscles, the throbbing pain in his left arm. And most importantly a man he truly hated standing before him with a shocked expression on his face. Freedom never tasted so good.

The bastard didn't so much as move when Sanzo flung himself at his enemy. Those demons he nailed were quite a bit faster than he'd given them credit for. They tackled him to the ground and held him there, barely a foot from Nii's...bunny slippers? Hell...this guy was even more demented than he thought.

Sanzo shot Nii a smirk, "Hey..." He said before he raised his middle finger.

Then Nii did something that reminded Sanzo of Hakkai in a twisted way. Nii smiled then smoothly twisted Sanzo's middle finger. The snap of bone could be heard even before the pain kicked in.

VVVVV Chapter end


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Saiyuki or anything else that anybody in the known universe could sue me for. I own nothing.

At the End of the Tunnel

After they'd carried him out of the room his guards made a brief stop outside his cell to thoroughly beat the crap out of him. One guard held him while the other wailed on him like a piece of chilled meat. Just like every other beating he'd been blessed with, each punch sent shockwaves of pain through his body. But the pain tended to come moments after the punch landed and just as the next was coming.

The pain was truly excruciating. His stomach muscles were aching and stinging at the same time. Sanzo knew at least one of is ribs was cracked. Not that he let this goon know. Instead when the guy stopped, seeming to be worn out. Sanzo just put on his best crocodilian smirk and said: "You hit like a girl you dumb son of a-"

He didn't even have time to finish his insult. The guard holding him tossed him to the ground, where Sanzo clipped his cheek on the floor when he couldn't catch himself, and he jogged his healing shoulder on the floor. His vision danced with sunspots when they started kicking him, and he almost blacked out entirely when one of them thrust their boot into one of the open gashes on his back. One guard wound up his leg for a momentum-fueled kick. Sanzo pretty much knew it was going to break his ribs. But of course he didn't have the strength to get up and dodge.

Sanzo didn't allow himself to scream. His body was being thrashed, but he'd be damned if he was going to give them the satisfaction of hearing him cry out. Nor did he cry out when his ribs cracked under the force of the blow. Hot blood gushing up from his mouth and onto the prison floor was subsequent compared to the snapping sting of his ribs. There wasn't even time to consider how bad the internal injury was before a kick harder than the last jerked his body off the floor and onto his back. The only blessing was that after that they stopped the relentless assault. Sanzo lay there for a moment, struggling to keep his consciousness and pay attention to his guards at the same time.

"Hey, man?" Idiot One said to Idiot Two, "He dead?"

"Nahh..." Said Idiot Two, "Just passed out like a little girl."

"Hey, think I can get a quickie in?"

"_Hell _no!" Sanzo yelled and used this opportunity to lash his foot out backwards. In his dazed state he couldn't be sure of anything, but he would bet money he'd managed to kick the bastard who said it in the family jewels...after that he wasn't quite sure what happened. Either they got a whole lot faster or his brain slowed down. Each took an arm and slammed him up against the cold bars. The growing bruise on his cheek flared up as his face was shoved into the space between bars, and his arm once again hurt like Dante's Inferno, used like a lever to keep him in place. Maybe it was is brain's defense mechanism kicking in or the lack of blood, but his mind suddenly went to a time when he'd first fled from Kinzan Temple. He was captured by a group of demonic bandits with a similar plan in mind for him. He'd shot that guy in the head. If he had his gun now, or even a working left arm, the demon unzipping his own pants right then wouldn't have that cruel smirk. It would have been ripped off with his entire fucking jaw.

"What is going on here!" someone yelled. Sanzo couldn't place the voice at first. All he noticed was the lack of pressure holding him against the wall, and how good the floor suddenly looked as a place to sleep. He slumped to the ground before cracking open an eye, curious as to who was gutsy enough to break up a perfectly good scene of humiliation

Yaone stood there, the two guards in front of her. From the way they were standing they were obviously trying to intimidate her. Arms crossed and arrogant smirks plastered on their faces. Probably had a pair of over inflated egos after beating up the Great Genjyo Sanzo. What could that poor, little, apothecary of Lord Kougaiji's do to them?

"That's my patient," she spoke cautiously, as if staying with some kind of hope that they could still be civil. It crossed his mind that it was either a little naiive of her, or she was just a little more optimistic than he was.

The two guards exchanged a look before looking at Yaone again, "Why don't you give us a couple more minutes alone," He winked, "If you know what I mean."

He saw her back straighten, the sinewy muscles under her skin prep for action. The change was a subtle one and probably a reflex for when she got ready for trouble. The muscle of her jaw stood out in the skin. She was clenching her teeth in obvious disgust. Good, so she was intuitive enough to know what they meant. "I won't let that happen," She snarled.

"Oh?" one of the guards said, "What're ya gonna do? We aren't Kougaiji's men, and I'm sure _Most Beloved Lady _Gyokumen Koushu won't take kindly to some apothecary taking us out of service."

Yaone relaxed and Sanzo would have cursed under his breath if he could spare the will. The guy had a point. Yaone probably couldn't do anything to hurt them without instigating the wrath of Koushu. From what he'd heard of the woman it wasn't a far stretch to believe she was the kind to be utterly flattered by one of her toys addressing her like that. Yaone was probably already on Koushu's shit list, the alchemist would likely be punished severely.

"So sweetheart, be a good little girl. Just go right back up those stairs and give us...oh how long will it take? Five minutes?"

She stiffened again. Sanzo wasn't expecting what happened next. Yaone smiled, looking Idiot One over, "Oh...You must think rather big of yourself if you believe it will take _that_ long!"

Anger flashed across the guard's face, "You. Little. Arrogant. Bitch!" Each word was accented by the guard putting a hand on Yaone's shoulder and roughly shoving her backwards. Sanzo could see the anger on her face, and he envied the control it must have taken for her not to grab the offending arm and break it in three different places. "Run along now, little girl. When we get bored with the monk we may come looking for you." He pushed her again, and again. The anger came, and it was pushed down inside. Sanzo would bet she was an old hand at keeping her fury under complete control; otherwise the guard would be lying dead on the floor.

An innocent was an innocent, an enemy an enemy. Sanzo was never the chivalrous type. It had never mattered to him whether they were male or female. So he was fairly certain the sudden burst of energy hadn't come from some instinctual desire to protect the woman, but rather his desire to get one more good smack in and put The Guard with the Overblown Ego back where he belonged on the food chain. He didn't say anything stupid like 'knock, knock' or 'goodnight' when he slipped his one useful arm around the guard's neck and kneed him in the back, as the heroes in Goku's comic book collection always seemed to do. Just silently took him down with a sense of accomplishment.

He turned on his heels, swinging at the other guard. And if he had only been slightly more on his game or his left arm functional he may have managed to overcome the second guard too. As it stood, the guard caught his fist and crushed it in a tight grip. Instantaneously something hit him in the face so hard he could have sworn he'd just been run over with Hakuryu. His world finally faded when his neck snapped back and rattled his spine.

VVVVV

Yaone watched, hesitating for the few moments it took for the scene to play out as she tried to decide whether to help him or prevent his escape. It happened too quickly for her to make her choice. One minute she was being shoved backwards by a pair of sadistic, chauvinistic, pigs and the next Sanzo somehow gathered up what had to be the last of his strength and used it to attack his guards. Demons who were much stronger than he was at the moment. Admiration for him came yet again.

The first guard was recovering. Blood dripping from his nose, and his already unattractive face distorted in rage. "Screw Nii...Let's break his neck!" The second guard did nothing as the first leapt towards the unconscious monk.

Yaone had just watched when Sanzo attacked, not fast enough herself to either stop him or help him. But there was no real moral debate when it came to stopping a sadist from murdering an unconscious man. Yes, she could not kill the demon, like he so deserved. So instead of reaching for her dagger she grabbed one of the many pouches on her utility belt and threw the loose sack of cloth into the man's face. White powder exploded in front of his face as he inhaled, sucking in a high concentration of the spores. He hit the ground with a flop. The second guard looked shocked, and stood back as Yaone prepared another bag of spores. "He'll live," She said as coldly as possible, "But if he ever brutalizes my patient again the dose will be much more concentrated."

The second guard, gripped by sudden fear of the apothecary, grabbed his friend and...vamoosed, for lack of a better word. Yaone turned her attentions to Sanzo. The blonde lay there, motionless. In the light she couldn't even tell if he was breathing. Her heart lurched in the split second before she could put a hand to his lips and found that there was the soft pressure of air coming from his lips. She started by taking a moment to thank the gods. Then systematically went over his bones to make sure nothing was broken. Aside from an array of cracked ribs and a broken middle finger (_big_ mystery how that happened) he was fine. She dragged him back to his cell, worried that she would get in trouble for leaving him out of it. If he kept irritating his guards like that the last thing he needed was her being forbidden to come.

She began with the Echinacea ointments she started him on the day before, rubbing it on the strange cuts on his wrists and the wounds on his back. Then she applied Cayenne and Blue Vervain to the areas where bruises were forming on his stomach. She would try and make him eat some later; it would help to prevent any kinds of abnormal bleeding. She would have loved to give him some Comfrey or Damiana but...

But Lirin spilled them...

Yaone sighed. As it turned out Lirin was intent on learning. Yaone had been rather happy when the young girl showed up right on time. The only problem was that she couldn't stay out of trouble long enough for Yaone to teach her anything. The demon child spent all day cleaning up the mess she'd made. This left the apothecary discouraged. If Lirin kept spilling things then she would always be cleaning them up, if she was always cleaning things up she would get bored, if she got bored she would just give up. It was a vicious cycle that Yaone feared wasn't uncommon with Lirin.

So instead, Yaone went for Devil's Claw and rubbed it on the areas where his bones were broken or dislocated with the hope it would lessen some of the pain of the skeletal problems. Comfrey would have helped to nourish his bones and help them heal faster. When she laid him back down on the clean cloak she'd give him the day before she didn't put his shackles back on. He wasn't going anywhere. Besides, she would definitely need to stitch up those cuts on his wrists. The one on his back was starting to look inflamed and worse than it had yesterday; she'd have to stitch that up too. Frankly she didn't want to do it while he was unconscious. After his display yesterday, and with the guards today, she figured that sticking a needle into him while he was unconscious was a _very_ unintelligent thing to do. So instead she took water from the canteen and a cup she brought with her to make a cold tea. She threw a variety of herbs and teas in there, primarily Catnip. It would help him relax and sleep.

After she convinced him that it wouldn't get him stoned...

VVVVV

Sanzo had a killer headache...

And a killer stomach ache...

And his ribs...

Well, to cut a long list short he hurt all over. Like Hakuryu really had driven over him...

But he'd had broken bones before, and realized that none of it hurt like it was supposed to. Yes, it hurt, but not like the gods intended broken bones to hurt. He took a breath through his nose, to try and smell his surroundings. Like most prisons it smelled of urine, and blood and other things. But after he could smell underneath the thick layer of rotten stench he could pick up traces of sweet, exotic herbs.

The monk opened his eyes to the sight of Yaone doing something with her back turned to him. It hit him how careless of her that was, and how he could easily overcome her right then...Naturally he disregarded the thought. She was the closest thing to a luxury he had in this place. Considering the fact he was crapping and pissing in a bucket, luxury was something he needed a lot of. He watched her work for a while, wondering how long it would take her to notice he was awake. Finally, he got bored. "Hey," he said in what was probably his least threatening, threatening voice, "What did you slap on this time?"

"Cayenne, Blue Vervain, Devil's Claw, and Echinacea ointments."

"Uh huh," He said, suddenly a little annoyed. If he knew what the hell any of those did he wouldn't need her help. "Am I supposed to have a clue what any of those do?"

She sighed, "Echinacea for the same reasons mentioned yesterday. Devil's Claw for skeletal disturbances, i.e. the broken bones. Cayenne for the bruises. And Blue Vervain because I felt like it."

In his wounded state it took him a moment to register what she said, but when he did he tussled with himself on whether it was an honest joke or if she was just annoyed he'd asked. He went with the all round reply, "And you want me to trust you?"

He could hear the strain in her voice when she spoke, as if she'd wanted to say something else but whatever Polite Translator she was installed with had it come out: "I'm sorry. I've just had a rough day..."

"You mean to tell me _you_ were hooked up to electrified bed springs and got the shit beat out of you?"

For the first time she turned to face him with a look of honest apology. "I'm sorry...that was insensitive."

He didn't quite know what to say to that, so he did was normal people did and changed the subject, "So is there a reason I'm not bandaged up?"

"Yes, I'm going to need to stitch your wrists...How did that happen anyway? I know you didn't try to kill yourself, so what happened?"

The blonde raised an eyebrow, "What makes you say that?" He was interested in his healer's observational ability. Who wouldn't be? How could she know that he wouldn't kill himself, especially seeing as how prior to this they'd only had very brief encounters? As a matter of fact he wasn't entirely sure he'd exchanged more than ten whole words with her before The Capture.

She put an old and battered cup of tea down in front of him, "It's easy. The angles and placings are all wrong. I believe your smart enough not to cut from the top of the wrist if you wanted to kill yourself."

Sanzo admitted he was mildly comforted to know that the person in charge of saving his life had a brain on them. If she really was as practiced in the healing arts as she claimed to be then he was probably in decent hands. As long as Kougaiji didn't need any information from him he didn't think she would drug him either. He turned his attention to the tea in front of him, "What's that?"

"Catnip mixed with other spices known to calm the nervous system. I also want you to eat some Cayenne pepper."

"Didn't you already do that?"

"You need to eat it for it to have the full effects on the blood stream. With all those bruises I'm afraid of clotting...Oh! Cat's Claw to strengthen your immune system."

"Is it gonna taste like shit?"

"Yes."

Growling he downed the pepper and the other herb she gave him before chasing it with the cold tea mixture she had for him. Even cold it tasted good, and only a few minutes after he drank it he felt for the first time like he wasn't about to tear the head off anything that moved. When she started stitching up his wounds he only winced occasionally when she really dug that needle in there. She was gentle, careful not to hurt him with her claws, and she kept the damage with the needle to a minimum. She was very neat about it too; the stitches were _perfectly_ lined up. When she was done with his wrists she slapped more of that...Echinacea ointment.

"Lirin wants to learn about my healing herbs." She mentioned it offhandedly, like small talk while stitching someone up was perfectly natural for her.

Sanzo felt a moment of pure terror, "You aren't going to start sending her are you?"

Yaone laughed for a moment, careful not to hurt him while she did it. Why was she laughing? It was a genuine question. He choked back a groan as the needle began digging into the flesh of his back, "Why didn't you do that yesterday?"

"It didn't look that bad in the light last night. I'm sorry, I should have caught it sooner."

Sanzo resisted the urge to roll his eyes; she sounded way too much like Hakkai for his comfort when she talked like that.

"When did Goku want to learn how to fight?" Yaone asked while she worked.

Sanzo answered honestly, "Didn't need to really...he was good at it the moment I found him. He helped me trash some bandits. It's the only reason I kept him around." Partial honesty anyway. He would have kept Goku around anyway, he'd known from the moment he reached out his hand that the boy's karma was so tightly bound with his there was no way in hell he could get out of it. Damn the boy.

"Lirin wants to learn, she just doesn't have the patience for it. Do you know the domino effect? Well that's what most of my jars looked like after she'd been in there for all of fifteen minutes."

Sanzo smirked, "You think that's impressive? Goku caused all kinds of shit at the temple...Always eating the peaches dedicated to that old hag..." At her inquiring look he clarified, "The Merciful Goddess."

It must not have been strange for someone to refer to the Merciful Goddess as a hag, or she chalked it up to the drugs. "Still, that's hardly compares to spilling medicinal equipment."

"I don't think I can top that...Once I went away for one freaking day. I came back to find Goku'd brought a dog into the temple. They tracked mud all over the place, and by the time I got there a collection of ancient relics had already been smashed or...eaten..."

Yaone made a sound that oddly resembled choking, "Eaten?"

"The dog ate the knucklebone that got cut off from some saint."

"So...what did you do about it?"

"Smacked the monkey upside the head."

"No, I mean about the relic."

"I didn't do anything about it, wasn't my problem. The monks on the other hand waited until..." He trailed off, then craned his neck around to look dryly at her, "On second thought, you're a smart girl. Figure it out."

Again, he got a smile from her.

After that it carried on in silence. When she was done bandaging his wounds and getting ready to leave she turned and calmly said, "Sanzo...I love a suicidal, stubborn push for male dominance as much as the next girl. But please, ease off the smart ass. They would have killed you in your sleep if I hadn't interfered." As she ran her key card through the reader she turned to him, "Please?" And walked away.

He sat there, a little dumbfounded that she was giving him orders and a little angry about it too. Getting or taking orders from anybody was not something he was keen on.

But she had a point. Damn her.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own Saiyuki or anything else that anybody in the known universe could sue me for. I own nothing.

At the End of the Tunnel

Yaone urged the dragon higher. She closed her eyes and let the wind blow over her. Usually the rhythmic sound of beating wings carried her to a sort of blissfully free state. Usually the nothingness was a wonderful break; just her, the dragon, and the endless sky. On any other day she couldn't deny the coil of freedom in her chest. Usually she enjoyed these short trips to collect herbs she needed. 

But this time all she could think about was the monk who was probably being tortured at that very moment. Not even for information! Just the simple fun of a sadist! And what could she do about it? Absolutely nothing. Not. A. Damn. Thing. The only coil of emotion she felt in her chest was the steady presence of smoldering rage, professionally contained. 

Forcing the dragon to dive downward, towards a small lake she did her best to push the thoughts from her mind. 

Besides, she realized as a second dragon came into sight, she wasn't really alone. It seemed the solitude would have been ruined anyway. Having an apprentice was more work than it seemed, even when the apprentice was making baby steps of progress. Now not only did she have to factor in her work as Kougaiji's apothecary and Lirin's babysitter, but also Sanzo's healer and Lirin's teacher. For a moment she wondered what exactly she'd done to make Karma mad. She'd asked for less work and all she got was more! If the heavens had some sort of a rewards system either it was terribly screwed up or they'd made a clerical error. 

On the bright side, Nii had been going easy on Sanzo in the last four days (as in nothing spectacular like electrified bedsprings and barbed wire). Her treatments of him consisted mostly of preventing infection and strengthening his immune system. Today she wanted to get some Mint so she could make a balm for his smaller cuts. Also she wanted to find some Marigold, she was afraid Enchinacea alone wasn't going to keep the large gash on his back from becoming infected. As a matter of fact, she was beginning to fear it already was. 

Yaone wondered if the sudden pang of fear was just due to the fact that it was her who hadn't put the bandages on his back the first night. It could be her fault it was infected. 

That was something she wasn't too keen on focusing on. Once she thought about that, all she could think about was trying not to think about all the horrible kinds of microbes could be crawling around that place...not even considering what Nii could purposely infect Sanzo with. Despite her efforts her mind rattled off at least the top four. 

"Hey! Yaone!" Lirin yelled from below, already having landed, "Cummon, slowpoke!" 

Yaone wondered when it became proper to call a teacher 'slowpoke'. Still, she kept her mouth shut as the dragon tried to clobber the ground with its feet. She rubbed her bumped elbow. That was much harder then usual, if not for the saddle straps she might have been knocked clean off this time. She couldn't help but glare at the dragon before whispering, "What did I do to you?"

The dragon twisted its head around so it was looking at her, then cocked its head. Like a dog that you just yelled at and it has no idea why it was just yelled at, so it tries to look as cute as possible so maybe you'll stop yelling. Until this moment she'd never thought it possible for a dragon to look cute, but damned if this one didn't pull it off. Yaone shook her head and steadily patted the beast's head. Maybe it hadn't been the dragon at all; maybe she was just snappier than usual...from the workload, not worrying about flesh eating bacteria. 

"Lirin," She called to her apprentice, who was tying her dragon's lead to a tree like a pro. Yaone could remember a time when the girl couldn't even tie her shoes right... 

Heavens...how long had she been with Kougaiji? 

Lirin came running over, "Stop it." 

"Stop what?" Yaone may never have had the teacher/student relationship before, but she was pretty sure she was the one supposed to be giving directions. 

"That look. You look all sad an' stuff." 

Yaone sighed, how could she explain this, "I'm dealing with some things right now. This isn't a sad face this is a thinking face." 

"Oh..." Lirin said, for a heartbeat Yaone dared hope that the girl would just let it drop. "But I know your thinking face. You don't look sad like that while you're measuring gunpowder." 

"I'm not sad..." Yaone said, then decided to get back at the girl, "Now, Lirin, what do we use Marigold for?" 

Lirin answered, "You just told me this morning. We use Marigold to disinfect cuts." 

"And mint?" Good, it seemed Lirin's attention was successfully diverted. There were times a child's abbreviated attention span came in handy. 

"Mint...mint..." She looked like she was struggling a little. "Lots of uses...mostly on the digestive tract. But it's also known to help fight off colds in the early stages." 

"Okay...there's a difference between Spearmint and Peppermint. What is it?" 

Again Lirin's face distorted as she tried to think of it. "Uh...Peppermint is stronger, and it's not safe to use on little children. We use Spearmint for that. Oh yeah! And the menthol in Peppermint is good for infections!" 

Yaone nodded approvingly, "Don't forget that regular Mint can help with muscle cramps and headaches, and Catmint can help slow down fevers. Peppermint, Spearmint, Catmint, and Mint are some of the most primary herbs we use. Do you remember where we find Mint?" 

"I remember that! By water sources." 

Yaone smiled again, "Just remember all of this. I'll quiz you on it tomorrow just to make sure today wasn't you getting lucky...Now, come, I know a little clearing where Marigold grows. Then we'll see if I can find those different mints to show you the difference." 

"Hey, Yaone," Lirin said. 

The apothecary wasn't feeling as bad anymore, Lirin was making progress. It was slow, but even memorizing a couple herbs was better than not knowing any. At least her time wasn't being wasted. "What is it?" 

"I just remembered another use for Mint: we put it in food!"

VVVVV

Sanzo wondered, in the midst of severe pain, how Goku was doing. Not that he had an idea in heaven or earth why he thought about the boy. It _definitely_ wasn't that he was worried about the boy...or about how he was handling all of this...or if he was focusing on his fighting instead of worrying about...

The thought was cut off at the feeling of flesh ripping and tearing as the thin strings were pulled out of them. He breathed heavily as the horrible pain set in. Amazingly, it was more torturous to make the effort not to scream then the actual torture. It was incredibly hard to fight one's primal urges.

He writhed on the chair for a moment. Being belted down to it, it wasn't like he could go anywhere else. When the urge to convulse was over he glared up at Nii...or at least he thought he was glaring up at Nii. The insanely bright light shining in his eyes blinded him to the world beyond its glow. For all he knew he could have been in some little shack in the forest, inches away from freedom. But it was far more likely he was in some empty room for torture in the prison outpost. "Is that all you got?" He asked.

The only reply he got was a hand and a pair of tweezers coming out from the shadows (disappointingly, not where Sanzo thought he was) and tore another one of his wrist stitches off. This time he tried to think only about the warm blood slipping down his wrists and not the pain. He was forced to close his eyes, trying to focus on his senses other than the nerves that were going crazy. He regained himself in a matter of moments. "You aren't going to hear me scream." Nope. Never.

He didn't have to see Nii to know that twisted smile was there, "Such a big, strong, boy you are...Cummon, scream for daddy."

"If you think I'm going to scream, or if you're my father, then you can just take your fucking medication," Sanzo snarled. "Though keep in mind: just because you're handicapped by psychosis doesn't mean I'm not going to blow your kneecaps off before I do _everything _to you that you've done to me here."

"Why do you still think you're getting out of this alive? Is it misplaced optimism? Or are you banking on a shred of human decency in me?" When Nii spoke this time, with a strange premeditated calm, he managed to make the normal persona he put on look sane...almost.

"Oh, I know I'm not getting out of this alive. Just so happens I'm a big fan of going out swinging. And by the way, sociopaths have no human decency."

More of the premeditated calm was in Nii's next words. In a way it was more unnerving then the blatant insanity. Everything that Nii was seemed bared in those few moments. All the hate, cruelty, apathy, malevolence, and darkness that he seemed to drip with became apparent as he spoke. " 'tis better to die on your feet than to live on your knees'," He quoted thoughtfully. "It's amazing how like him you are...and sickening. He died that night...A match only gets one chance before it can't support the flame anymore...this much of him shouldn't live on." He laughed suddenly, "Damn it, Koumyou! You cheated!"

Sanzo almost said something terribly snide, but for once common sense interrupted the words and turned them to ash in his mouth. He would never admit it in a million years, but this strange, detached side of Nii scared him. This was a part of Nii that truly showed you how capable of cruelty he was. Well, he was always capable of it, but this side of him...was malicious. He was easily angered and would have no desire to play with Sanzo once angered...he would strangle him without a second thought and watch as the light went from his eyes. Not for amusement, like the other Nii, but simply because he could. Like some teenaged jackass tearing off a birds wings.

Sanzo didn't know why he knew this side of Nii so well...even though he'd only seen brief glimpses of it. In all the honesty of the universe he didn't want to know why he could stare into the heart of darkness and understand that soul entirely.

He gasped in surprise as thin hands came from behind and were placed on his cheeks. Gods, he hadn't even heard him move...

"Are you afraid?" Nii cooed.

Sanzo wisely stayed quiet.

One hand suddenly slid down from his cheek to his chin and neck, the other shifted position slightly. Both hands were in perfect positions to snap his neck with just a single quick motion. Sanzo realized, that in this moment he was walking the tightrope between living and dying. That was all right, he'd been there before plenty of times. He just did what he'd always done, it seemed to work seeing as he was still here. "If you want to kill me, go ahead. I can go to hell and laugh my ass off that you took the easy way out."

His heart lurched when slight pressure was applied to Nii's hands. The other man's grip intensified, like he was preparing for the break. Sanzo didn't pray for his life then, he only prayed that Nii wasn't seeing the sweat dripping down his forehead and neck, or feel the pounding of the pulse in his neck. For another intense split second the pressure increased. Finally Nii's hands were quickly lifted away. It was like if he stayed like that for a second longer he wouldn't have been able to help murder.

"You were lucky, Priest Sanzo."

"I've been-" Sanzo couldn't finish, what with being punched out of nowhere and everything.

Now, he was no stranger to getting hit in the face with blunt objects; fists, baseball bats, clubs, chairs, etc. the strange thing was is that as he was passing out and choosing a topic to think about instead of the splitting headache he thought about the apothecary...Yaone.

VVVVV

When Yaone came that night, she saw something that would change her view of Nii forever. She'd always known he was insane, evil, crazy, sadistic...but the creature she saw that night...was...

He was standing over a passed out Sanzo, looking for the entire world like an angel of death or a collector of damned souls. Maybe even some kind of vampire. He looked pale in the light; his lab coat didn't seem that many shades whiter than his skin. The black slacks and hair contrasted the pallor beautifully.

What _was_ he?

She flew to the Prison Outpost, like was becoming habit for her, only to find that Sanzo wasn't in his cell. She had considered sitting around and waiting for Sanzo's guards to escort him back to his cell, but decided against him. For one thing she had limited time, and she wasn't going to be kept from her duties once she was there. For another thing she wanted to use any excuse she could to ease his suffering. So she'd wondered down the dungeon hall, towards the area that was classically used for varying types of torture. And she'd managed to stumble onto the sight of Nii standing over Sanzo.

She was just coming down the stairs and opening the door when she first saw what would be burned in her memory forever. The room was lit by a single bright light, shining on the two like a spotlight in some play. Sanzo was strapped to a chair, similar to the kind that dentists used. Nii's hand was tracing the outline of the priest's jaw and neck. As if pondering or mapping out what he was going to do next.

Sanzo, with his hair the purest golden fire, was the very image of light. While Nii looked the very image of darkness. Yaone would not deny the fear, but she also couldn't deny there was beauty to this sight.

Yaone realized how the effect of fear Nii usually had on her was intensified. There was no fight or flight syndrome this time, just a desire to run that was etched into her very bones. Something inside her was screaming that this was not a safe place to be. It was jumping off the walls and slamming its hands against the cement Yaone carefully kept it contained with.

Because of that she couldn't turn her eyes away from him...She didn't know what gods forsaken thing she was staring at, but she knew that her patient was at the mercy of said horrid thing. "Dr. Nii," She called out bravely, he turned to face her with eyes blacker than sin. She kept the shake from her voice, barely; she'd never known his eyes were that black before. "I believe you're shift is over...He's my patient now."

When Nii stared at her she realized how terribly out of it he was. For a moment he didn't even look like he recognized her. She got the impression of being was some kind of strange foreign object that was looked at with curiosity and annoyed contempt all at once. He'd been in some other place, when all of a sudden something came along to drag him away from it.

When he smiled it was almost a relief to see the apathetic pervert she was used to. "Just admiring my handiwork, little apothecary." As he walked by her his grin grew wider, "Just a little head's up, he tore his stitches and he has a severe concussion. I'd take measures to prevent clotting if I were you." Then he walked away.

"I can do my job, thank you," Yaone waited to make the comment until after he'd left the room, even at that she only said it in a whisper. As soon as she knew he was gone she practically collapsed from the post-adrenaline shakes. She pressed her back to the closed door behind her before automatically going through her collection in search of something to calm her nerves; she doubted she'd be much help to Sanzo if she were shaking out of her mind. It didn't take her long to find the Thyme she'd been looking for. After fumbling to get the bag open she downed as big a dose as she knew was safe. It didn't take long for the nervous adrenaline jitters to go away.

"That was brave, and stupid," She suddenly heard Sanzo say; she jerked her attention up to him. He was still placed exactly how he was when Nii was there, bound by strips of leather to the chair. His eyes were still closed, blood marred his wrists and the array of wounds and bruises on his chest were exposed fully. Still, he must have been awake the entire time.

She laughed nervously, "Tell me about it..." Then more seriously, "What is he?"

It took him a long time to reply, she was beginning to think he'd passed out again when he spoke, "He's just a human. A damned ambitious, evil mutherfucker of a human, but still a human..." He opened his eyes, "Do you know why he got the job working with Koushu."

"Because he's a pervert and she's a slut?"

Maybe it was the concussion on his part, or maybe her view was somewhat clouded, but she could have sworn she saw a quirk of his lips. "I'm sure that's got something to do with it, it probably only helped that he happens to have the Muten scripture..."

Yaone stared down at the man, "He's a...Sanzo priest? Like you?"

"No," His voice was as if he was speaking to someone rather slow and getting agitated, "Not like me. If you look closely enough you'll see that he doesn't have the chakra on his forehead. He was never chosen by the gods."

"When I saw him it took everything I had not to run."

"Good, you're smart..." He opened his eyes and quickly looked away, "Turn this damn light off, my head feels like I swallowed a bottle of rubbing alcohol."

Yaone mentally smacked herself for not thinking of that herself. Momentarily she fumbled on the wall next to her before finding a light switch so she wouldn't be in complete darkness once she turned off the surgical light. It turned on an overhead light in the middle of the room and one in the other end.

It took all her self-control not to throw up to see the rusty (she _hoped_ that's what it was) collection of torture devices placed neatly all around the room. Yaone even managed to pick out the cat o' nine tails that Nii had used on Sanzo last night. However, the more hideous devices looked either too mundane for Nii or too old to be used. Still, her demonic ears picked up on the slightest change in Sanzo's breathing. He clearly thought the same thing she thought, and hoped more than she did.

To get her mind off of it she walked over to him, "Look into the light."

"I thought you healers are supposed to _prevent _that?"

Yaone smiled, she couldn't help it. "I need to see if you really have a concussion."

Reluctantly he looked up quickly into the bright light above him, Yaone was pleased to see the violet pupils contract. "Congratulations, you don't have a concussion."

"As great as that is," He began, "I _do_ have a headache. So for my reward could you please turn off the light?"

"Of course," Yaone switched it off and began to work on the leather straps. As she did so she felt a little insulted to see her stitches from the night before removed, and the skin around it torn to shreds. The possibility of scars was beginning to look more and more like a probability. At that she felt rather sick; a device of her healing had been used to cause him pain. She took particular care when removing the blood caked leather around his wrists. As soon as she was done and he was mobile she said, "Can you move?"

"If I have to," He hissed.

She smiled, "You have to."

A grumbling Sanzo rolled over, and would have fallen over if Yaone hadn't helped him up. Yaone noted when he grabbed her shoulders that he had already regained use of his left shoulder, five days was good for healing a dislocated appendage. There was a rush of something as he relied on her, an alien fluttering in her chest. It being alien, she ignored it.

It might have been wiser to use the better light of the room to treat him by. But she thought it might be healthier for him to get away from the devices lined up on the walls. She would bet every penny she had that Nii set it up like that. Although she was pretty sure the glimpse into his insanity she saw wasn't part of his plan. "So," She said as she guided Sanzo out of the room and onto the staircase, "What on earth did you say that made Nii...act like that?"

"I said a lot undiplomatic things. One or more of them must have had the desired effect."

"'Desired effect'?"

"He's my enemy, I'm spending a lot of quality time with him these days. I felt the need to dig for all the information I could."

Fair enough. Yaone knew she would do the same in his position. "You were saying something about the Muten Scripture you claim he possesses?"

"He's a Sanzo because he has a scripture and a holy name, but there can only be one explanation for not having the chakra: he took the scripture by force. Meaning he never would have completed the training required for bearing the weight of a holy scripture."

Yaone caught on, "He was already demented enough to kill a priest for his scripture, the added weight of the scripture must have just made it worse."

Sanzo grimaced just before they hit the top of the staircase, "Yes, that's exactly what I'm thinking...Very good. A whole hell of a lot better than that good for nothing kappa."

"...I never got the relationship between you two."

As they reached his cell she slowly placed him back onto the mat he slept on. He grunted, "It's pretty simple once you get to know us: he annoys me and in turn I detest him. There's a mutual understanding between us that as long as Hakkai's breathing I don't kill him."

He was hurting, and trying to talk tough. For some reason she found that amusing.

She began to work, starting immediately with the Peppermint Oil and Marigold Juice she'd collected that morning.

Then he said something that surprised her, though it probably shouldn't given his observant nature.

"What? No Echinacea this time?"

Oh? So he _had _been paying attention. "No. I'm afraid it's not strong enough to prevent infection. I'm using Marigold Juice and Peppermint Oil."

"It stings," He muttered irritably.

"You get used to it. An infection will hurt a lot worse."

VVVVV

Yaone let the hot water rinse over her face, trying desperately to retain the heat she'd lost as soon as she'd gotten out of bed. But as per usual she wouldn't have time to let it warm her properly before having to climb out and go to work. In the last eight days, work had included: Getting up at about six o'clock so she could make it to her lab before Lirin, spending the next four to six hours showing Lirin the ropes as she tried to get some of her concoctions premixed, then she would let Lirin go play while she focused on making more gunpowder and explosives for about four hours, if she had time before dinner she would try to get some practice in with her spear, at about six o' clock she would start flying to the Prison Outpost to care for Sanzo, afterwards returning to Hotou Castle whenever she was finished with him. Meaning that whenever she finished she still had to get up at six A.M and start the whole goddamned process over again

Last night she'd only gotten four hours sleep because Nii went a little crazy with a pair of tweezers and Sanzo's stitches. She'd been forced to stitch up the mutilated skin around the ripped stitches; a difficult task Oh...how she wanted nothing more than to just stand there in the shower, absorbing the heat and lost in thought. Actually, no, she'd been lost in thought too much lately. Unfortunately the thoughts she was getting lost in weren't of the relaxing nature. Every time she tried not to think about him all that happened was she thought about him _more_. All the thoughts were of the depressing sort, involving things like the hell he must have been going through.

She immediately revised her wish. She wanted to stand there in the shower, absorbing the heat and let her brain melt away. Just for a little while, that was all she wanted. Yaone closed her eyes. Steadied her breathing. She focused _only_ on her breathing...only on the immediate sounds and feelings all around her. The aim was to focus on the here and now so the thoughts of the past, present, and future could just fly away.

It worked...For two blissful seconds...

No sooner had she found that lovely place of emptiness did someone knock on the door to her room. It took everything she had not to scream.

Angrily she shut off the shower and grabbed a towel. She seriously considered walking out there naked, that would teach Kougaiji or Doku a lesson or two. Instead she settled for wrapping a towel around herself. That would make either of her male friends uncomfortable enough. Yaone allowed herself a wicked smile, which would of course be sweet as pie by the time she got to the door. She walked across wood floors and carpet before finally reaching the door to her room and pulling it open.

Just as she'd suspected it was Kougaiji, and the second he realized exactly what she was wearing (or rather what she wasn't) his tanned face went beet red. "Yes, Lord Kougaiji?" She said, perfectly mimicking the Girl Next Door cliché.

He squirmed a little. But he got no sympathy. It damn well served him right for snapping her out of the few moments of true peace she'd had in the last week. "Um...I came to...uh...Ask you about Lirin." He said the last bit quickly and looked back into the hallway as if checking for something.

"Yes, what about her?"

He seemed to be having trouble finding a place to focus his eyesight on. The demon prince ended up focusing on a place on the carpet behind her. This amused Yaone to no end. The son of Gyumaoh was polite enough to look the other way. "Do you think she's...s-serious?" He said in a voice nearly a stammer.

That really wasn't a question she wanted to answer dripping wet, wrapped in a towel. But she answered it anyway. "Well, she has come every day the past week, always of her own accord. And she is making some progress. So, yes, in my opinion she really wants to learn." Her voice was calm, and reasonable. But as she stood next to an open door she understood the subtle screw-overs of karma. She wanted to give her lord an eyeful, so she ended up soaking wet and forced to stand in the middle of a cold draft talking to him.

Almost as soon as the thoughts crossed her mind it got worse. Doku chose that moment to come strolling around the corner. "Hey, Yaone-" He stopped before the sentence could take full shape. He gawked for a moment or so before doing an abrupt about-face and placing his back to the wall outside her room. It was moments like those when she could hardly believe Doku and Gojyo were related by anything other than genealogy. Kougaiji seemed to snap out of whatever daze he was in and did a similar about-face, suddenly mumbling something about equipment checks. He seemed like he couldn't leave fast enough. Yaone wasn't very worried about repercussions; he probably just wanted to pretend this whole thing ever happened.

She smiled at the remaining member of their party, even though he couldn't see it, "Well, Doku, what did you want?" This was an amazing release of stress. So much so it took everything she had not to laugh...she failed. She ended up laughing so hard it hurt her stomach and she was forced to retreat to the bathroom to keep from dropping her towel entirely. When she was in there she grabbed a much less revealing robe before walking back outside, still laughing.

Doku took a glance to make sure she was decent before turning to face her entirely, "You did that on purpose didn't you?"

"Yes."

"You're evil."

"I know."

VVVVV


End file.
